Obama’s Gamble on Populism Is a Wager on His Political Future

By

Peter Brown

Jan 26, 2010 8:00 am ET

Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, is a former White House correspondent with two decades of experience covering Washington government and politics. Click here for Mr. Brown’s full bio.

The problem with populism comes when the practitioners aren’t on the same page as the populace. President Barack Obama must confront that sticky situation as he prepares his State of the Union address, the best chance he might have in some time to reverse his administration’s political fortunes.

The nationally televised address couldn’t come at a better time for the president, who will have an opportunity to use his ample speaking skills to try to reverse a slow but steady decline in his poll numbers that began last summer. Whether or not he invokes the populist themes he has been using frequently of late, the agenda he unveils will be unmistakably populist.

Given his recent speeches, it would be surprising if he didn’t offer an “us versus them” appeal to angry Americans. The challenge facing President Obama is making voters channel their anger toward big businesses and big banks rather than big government.

Which big institutions are in the most disrepute in Peoria is likely to determine our politics this year, with the Democrats trying to gin up anger at Wall Street fat cats and Republicans doing the same toward government bureaucrats.

Last week’s election of Republican Scott Brown to the U.S. Senate from very Democratic Massachusetts, and the ensuing collapse in Congress of Mr. Obama’s top legislative priority -– a health care overhaul — has left the president with less than half of Americans in his corner, according to a variety of polls.